Dragonball: Rebuilt
by Grand Wolf
Summary: Everyone got left behind in the super saiyan arms race. Yamcha, Tien, Chiaoutzu, Krillen and Piccolo went from fighters, to helpers, to living props, then gone. Not here. Same basic story, but this time, everybody fights, and nobody gets left behind.
1. Saiyans Arrive

Author's Note

This is Dragonball: Rebuilt. This is a retelling of Dragonball Z, designed with one goal in mind.

Balance the Cast. Krillen, Tien, Yamcha and Chiaotzu are a part of this story, for all of it. This means that this is not Goku and Gohan's story, this is everyone's story. The saiyans do not win every fight, they are not perfect. Unfortunately, this means that some of the cool moments the more powerful characters typically get won't belong to them here.

The basic frame for the plot will remain the same. Every deviation I make from canon will line up with the goal I outlined above.

One year. That was what the saiyan said as he died, one year. They had one year to train, one year to struggle, one year to improve. They were all concerned that it wouldn't be enough, that there wouldn't be enough time. Now, that year was over, and the warriors gathered to fight a threat from another world.

Krillen shivered as he flew. He'd felt thousands die when an incredible power flared, and snuffed them all out. Like thousands of candles in a massive gust of wind. Two powers, neither doing a very good job at hiding it. He felt two others, one very innocent, and the other dark. Piccolo and Gohan. He had objected to Piccolo grabbing the boy, but at the time, he couldn't risk killing Piccolo, so he really had no choice. If Piccolo won, he died and couldn't be raised. If he won, Piccolo died, and Goku couldn't be raised. He hated himself for that choice, but there wasn't much hope. However, Piccolo's aura was different somehow. Lighter, less malicious. Still dark, but a gray instead of a jet black.

"Hi guys." He said as he landed. "Wow, guys, you both got a lot stronger." He tried to sound casual, but the sheer malice radiating off of the two figures who stood off to the side made that hard. He ignored his first instinct, the bigger one was much weaker. While the shorter one was clearly more powerful, Krillen could feel even more power waiting just beneath the surface.

The other three weren't far off, Krillen could tell. Tien's aura felt like a light gray, too dark to be pure, but hardly evil. Chiaoutzu's aura, however, always felt strange, probably the influence of his psychic powers. Yamcha's aura felt wild, like a dog with too much of the wolf in him.

Soon, they all landed, and assessed their foes, who seemed to be assessing them back. They'd all been told about the strange electronic device that the other saiyan had, and that the device could read auras and give a rating. So, all of the warriors suppressed their auras in an attempt at making themselves look weak.

"Ha..." The bigger one said, stepping forward. "They all read about a thousand each. This is pathetic." Krillen noticed that their previous conversation had been in more hushed tones. Clearly, this was an intimidation tactic.

"Ugh." The shorter one said. "Alright, Nappa, we can at least make a show of it. Are there any of the saibamen left?"

"Six of them." Nappa said.

"Fine." The shorter one chuckled. "Plant them, let's see if the Earthlings can handle that. By the way, Earthlings, each of these Saibamen is approximately as strong as Raditz, the saiyan that died to Kakkarott. You barely mustered the strength to team up against him, I can't wait to see how you handle the saibamen." With that, he laughed.

Six strange, squirming, plantlike creatures rose from the ground and giggled in a high pitched, grating fashion. The warriors all looked at one another, confused. They were sinister and fairly powerful.

"I got this." Yamcha said, stepping up, cracking his neck and knuckles. These things don't look so tough."

The first saibamen stepped up and giggled cruelly, dancing back and forth. Yamcha narrowed his eyes, as if assessing his foe. He flashed a cocksure grin, and vanished from sight. The saibaman giggled, and did the same.

Suddenly, a popping sound filled the air and all present looked up. The two of them reappeared high in the air, before vanishing again. A boulder exploded suddenly, sending shards of stone into the air as they reappeared again.

Dust and debris flew into the air in front of the fighters, Piccolo could hear the sound of footsteps, landing softly. When the dust settled, Yamcha stood, still grinning, barely breathing hard. The saibaman, however, lay in a crater in the ground, twitching.

"See guys, easy." He said, turning around, apparently confident that his foe was defeated. Then, the saibaman screamed and leaped into the air straight at Yamcha.

All of the warriors present went to shout a warning, but the words did not leave their lips. For, as soon as the creature left the crater, a ball of energy about the size of a fist exploded from beneath the earth and slammed into it, tearing it's head off. After the fact, Krillen realized that Yamcha's finger twitched upward at that moment.

"It was barely wounded." Yamcha said. "Thanks for showing that you guys have a suicide tactic, though."

He walked back over to the others.

"What was that about?" Krillen said in a low voice.

"When it hit the ground and stayed down, I got suspicious, so I burrowed a spirit ball into the ground and acted like I won. As soon as I heard it get up, I launched the attack."

"Well that was entertaining." The short one said with a chuckle. "Nappa, don't bother with the scouter."

"Why not, Vegeta?"

"They can somehow conceal their power." Vegeta said with a grin. "Not sure how, but there's no way that one's power is only a thousand. He beat the saibaman effortlessly. Now, who's next?" Vegeta said with a grin.

"Well, the cat's out of the bag." Krillen said with a shrug, stepping forward. "I felt a surge of power when that one jumped up. Probably planned on self destructing. My turn."

One of the saibamen leaped forward, hurling at Krillen at an incredible speed. Krillen just stood there, watching it's approach cautiously. Gohan watched in fear as Krillen seemed uninterested, or unwilling to move. At the last possible moment, however, the creature struck Krillen, only to see Krillen shimmer in place.

"HAAAAA!" Krillen shouted from above, finishing the last part of a well-known attack. His cupped hands thrust forward, a shower of blue energy slammed downward, bathing the creature in it. Moments later, the light faded, and only a hole remained where the creature was.

"Heh, they can't sense energy at all." Piccolo said quietly to himself, stepping forth, waiting for the next challenger.

Another saibaman charged forward, straight into Piccolo's waiting hand. From several dozen feet away, Piccolo's hand darted forward and grabbed the creature by it's neck. It gasped for air for but a moment before hurling towards Piccolo, who held an outstretched hand at it's face. A flash of yellow light, and the creature was dead.

Vegeta turned to the last three with disgust, and blasted them all to oblivion. "This game bores me, time for more entertainment. Nappa, it's your turn." 


	2. Nappa's Rage

Nappa grinned, a strange combination of sadism and childish glee. That was the first sign of trouble. Any foe who looked forward to battle with that fusion of madness and joy was not one to treat lightly.

"You guys catch your breath." Tien said. "I'll take him." He charged forward, and despite Nappa's readiness, caught the brute off guard. Nappa struck downward, as if to shatter Tien with a single blow, but hit the ground instead. Shards of rock filled the air as Tien simply vanished.

Tien reappeared behind Nappa, low to the ground. He swung his leg around quickly to trip Nappa up and set him off guard. Nappa fell backwards and Tien began striking. He hoped saiyans had the same pressure points as humans. A jab here, a poke there, all designed to hit nerve clusters that, hopefully, put Nappa in a lot of pain.

Tien felt his hands swatted away as a fist the size of his head slammed into his stomach. Tien's vision blurred for a moment and he stumbled.

"Die!" Nappa roared as he raised his hand to Tien's face. Tien blinked, but the blast didn't come. He stared up at Nappa, who seemed to be straining. He couldn't move, Chiaoutzu had apparently paralyzed him. Tien knew that his little friend could not keep that technique up forever, so he reared back and kicked Nappa as hard as he could, sending the saiyan monster flying into a nearby rock formation. Stone exploded everywhere as Tien took a second to breathe.

I'm sorry, Mr. Tien. Came the little voice into his head. I couldn't let you die.

It's fine, Chiaoutzu. Tien reassured him.

"I don't know how you did that..." Came a growling voice. "But I'm gonna kill you for it!" He roared, sending shards of stone everywhere as his aura flared up again. He charged forward, death in his eyes.

Tien charged to meet him, as fast as he could. As soon as they neared one another, however, he flew through Nappa, vanishing as he did so.

Nappa turned around, this way and that, oblivious to his foe's location. He has no idea where I am, they can't sense auras at all, pass it along, Chiaoutzu. Tien floated there for a moment, considering his next course of action. The kikoho might work, but would leave him tired if it failed. Nappa appeared to be incredibly tough, so if it didn't work, he would be in grave danger. It wasn't time for that kind of technique, not yet, anyway.

Tien raised a finger into the air and concentrated his ki into a single point. The dodonpa, a penetrating blast, right through the heart. He'd seen Goku fight, he knew saiyans had the same basic vulnerabilities. A blast right to the heart would kill Nappa like it would any human. If only Nappa would stay confused a few moments longer.

"A-ha!" Nappa said, grinning upward. He spotted Tien's finger, and the energy concentrating there. Even though he couldn't sense it, he knew what the attack was meant to do. Pierce through his armor and flesh, and kill him. Tien pushed more energy into the attack, hoping Nappa couldn't close the distance in time.

Nappa flew upward, charging. Tien felt the energy peak, it was time. He extended his finger. "Dodonnnnnpaaaaa!" He roared, firing the blast dead center on Nappa's chest. Nappa, however, disappeared. The same trick Tien had pulled on him, twice.

Tien felt a breeze, the only indication of his foe's location, before he blacked out. A fist the size of a melon slammed into the back of Tien's head, sending him hurling to the ground. Nappa landed quickly and extended his hand towards the unconcious Tien, ready to finish him off.

"I don't think so!" He heard. His head turned slightly to the side, before it slammed back in the other direction. Disoriented, he felt fist after fist slam into him, too fast to deflect, too weak to hurt.

He raised his hands to defend himself, trying to deflect the blows. His vision finally correcting, he saw his foe. The long haired, scarred Earthling, with a scowl on his face.

Nappa began to deflect the blows, but couldn't manage an offense. For every strike he deflected, three more got through. He felt himself pushed backwards. Yamcha wasn't letting him get a moment to breathe.

"The hell is he doing?" Krillen asked himself, and then, his eyes widened. Bit by bit, Nappa's armor was weakening.

He ready? Yamcha said telepathically, to Chiaoutzu.

Yeah came the answer.

Nappa growled and took a swing, hitting nothing but empty air, his foe seemingly vanishing completely. All of those strikes, bewildering, and useless. What was that. all about?

"MAKKANKOSAPPOOOO!" Came the answer. Nappa turned towards the sound in time to see a blast, narrow and focused, coming straight for him. He went to move, but couldn't, the paralysis again.

Chiaotzu struggled to keep the monster in check, using all of his power. Nappa was the strongest foe he'd ever attempted to paralyze, and it was taking it's toll. He realized, too late that paralyzing the brute twice in a short time span would be too much of a strain.

I'm sorry... A quiet voice entered all of their heads, and they knew that the small warrior was out.

Nappa roared and jumped out of the way as soon as he felt the paralysis leave him. However, it wasn't fast enough. The blast hit his shoulder and punctured through his armor, tearing it away.

Piccolo grinned, Nappa's arm was too hurt to be of much use. Not dead, but certainly less dangerous.

Nappa turned and stared at Piccolo for but a moment, before charging. Piccolo dodged backwards as Nappa's fist struck the ground, narrowly missing Piccolo. Piccolo turned and kicked him in the head, but Nappa grabbed his leg and slammed him violently into the ground.

Piccolo roared as he felt a few ribs break. Nappa lifted him into the air and hurled him at a nearby rock formation, causing Piccolo to slam into it and crash through, scattering large stones like pebbles.

Gohan watched as his mentor flew around like a ragdoll, tiny fists clenched in rage.

"Stop hurting Mr. Picccolo..." He whispered.

Nappa flew towards the rocks and lifted Piccolo into the air by his head. He slammed his fist into Piccolo's stomach, repeatedly, growling.

"That hurt, you scum of a Namek, Hell's gonna be a relief compared to what I got in store for you!"

Gohan's aura spiked and he opened his eyes. They were filled with tears of sadness and rage. He screamed.

"STOP HURTING MR. PICCOLO!" He roared as he leaped into the air. 


	3. Gohan Unleashed

Nappa threw Piccolo again, slamming him into a large rock, causing shards to fly everywhere. Piccolo managed to recover, and braced himself. He grimaced through the pain of broken ribs and bruised organs. Nappa was coming in fast, too fast for Piccolo to mount an offense. Just as Nappa was about to strike again, Piccolo's sensitive ears suddenly popped painfully as Nappa vanished.

Piccolo spotted Gohan, hanging in mid-air, face contorted in rage. Dust and stone flew everywhere as Nappa slammed into the ground, bouncing into the air, before vanishing again.

Piccolo shook his head and concentrated, he could feel Gohan's aura. More powerful than ever, he could also feel the aura of Nappa. Nappa was bouncing, slamming this way and that as Gohan batted him about like a cat with a toy.

Nappa landed, and Piccolo watched as Gohan rained blasts from above, screaming. For all of his power, Nappa couldn't catch his bearings enough to mount an offense again. When the dust settled, Nappa's armor was gone, and he was badly bruised.

"Sorry, Mr. Piccolo..." Gohan said. "I couldn't beat him." With that, Gohan fell out of the air, barely awake.

Nappa roared as his aura flared again. Piccolo readied himself to dash in, trying to keep the beast distracted, but someone beat him to it.

Yamcha appeared above Nappa, visible for only a moment, eyes flashing, before kicking Nappa solidly in the head. Nappa recoiled, and then grinned maliciously. Yamcha's eyes went wide, Nappa wasn't going to let him pull that trick.

With frightening speed, Nappa reached up and slammed his fist into Yamcha's chest, causing the scarred warrior to fly backwards like a shot, slamming and skipping along the ground. Nappa charged after him.

Yamcha bounced into the air again, and grimaced in pain. Nappa had shattered his sternum, he couldn't breathe. It wasn't an instantly lethal attack, but he was all but defenseless against an attack that probably would be.

Just before the killing blow landed, however, a blast of energy slammed into Nappa and knocked him away. Nappa recovered and glanced up to see Krillen, eyes full of defiance, hands cupped forward.

Nappa turned and charged at him, leaving Yamcha laying on the ground, sputtering, barely able to breathe. He slammed his fist down, but Krillen was already gone.

"Hey, idiot!" Krillen shouted. Nappa's head snapped up and he glared at him.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you." Nappa said with a grin, before vanishing.

Krillen closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating on where Nappa would be. There! Krillen leaped into the air as fast as he could, causing Nappa to narrowly miss him.

Nappa was actually much faster than his size suggested, but all that bulk slowed him down a lot. He had frightening strength, but his strikes were a brawler's, powerful, but inefficient. Too much wasted motion. Still, Krillen realized, he couldn't defeat him with hand to hand combat. Krillen simply didn't have the striking power. But that was fine, he had a plan.

"TAIYOKEN!" He yelled, spreading his fingers across his face. Nappa's world went white. As his vision returned to normal, he felt someone slam him high into the air.

He regained control of himself and turned around, looking for his foe. A yellow disc, made of pure energy, hurled towards him. He looked this way and that, trying to determine what he should do.

A disc of pure energy came from seemingly nowhere, coursing through the air. Nappa twisted away, trying to dodge the attack, just in time for a beam, a familiar one, to pierce his other shoulder.

"KIKoHOO!" Came a voice from above. Nappa glanced upwards just in time to see a massive cascade of energy course down over him. It felt like a wall of pure force, slamming him downward to the ground.

Vegeta's eyes went wide as he gazed at the blinding flash of light. When it faded, there was a massive, square shaped crater dug into the earth, with Nappa at the bottom.

Nappa's body was literally steaming. He floated slowly out of the hole, breathing hard, and bleeding profusely. Badly hurt, but not quite down, not yet.

"W-well..." Tien said, stumbling forward. "That's not good." He passed out again, having exhausted his energy.

Nappa turned to Krillen and charged in, remembering who his original foe was. Krillen dodged him, narrowly, and sent another kienzan. Nappa dodged it and kept charging, straight through stone and everything.

Krillen's eyes went wide as Nappa closed the distance, slamming his fist into the shorter warrior's stomach. Krillen tumbled backward, and struggled to his feet. Well, he was dead now. Nappa was going to kill him.

A flash of green and purple filled his eyes as Nappa disappeared into the horizon. Piccolo landed.

"Goku's coming." He said. "I'll try to keep this monster busy until he gets here. Get up!" Krillen nodded, numbly, managing to stand.

Piccolo fired a blast, a small one, hitting Nappa in the head. Nappa growled and shook his head, before flying towards Piccolo. Piccolo flew forward, meeting the saiyan monster in mid air. The clash caused a shockwave in the air. They battled, striking faster and faster in mid-air.

I'm here... Came a small voice in Piccolo's head.

Good, now here's what you do... Piccolo replied.

Faster and faster the two warriors battled. Before, Nappa had surprised him, and got the edge. Now, Piccolo had had time to assess his foe, narrowing the gap considerably.

A rock formation shattered suddenly, and the two became visible in the midst of it for only a moment before vanishing again. Krillen was scared at how much endurance Nappa seemed to have. They'd thrown practically every attack they collectively knew at him, and he was still on his feet, still fighting. But the exhaustion was beginning to take it's hold. Nappa's power faded, slowly.

They reappeared in mid-air, with Nappa breathing harder than Piccolo.

"What's the matter, saiyan? Thought your race was the strongest." Piccolo said. In truth, he was tired, dead tired, but he knew Nappa couldn't detect ki. So, by hiding his exhaustion, it looked like he was still ready to go.

Nappa punched Piccolo as hard as he could, causing the ground beneath him to crack. Piccolo grimaced through a broken jaw and slammed his foot into Nappa's head. Piccolo felt something break in his foot.

I...I don't know if...

It's okay, kid, you can do it...

Are you sure?

Positive Krillen responded. It was time.

Just as Nappa was about to deliver another blow, Gohan dashed into view and blasted Nappa in the back. Nappa turned around, trying to see where the target went. At that moment, a flying disc of energy flashed into view. It was far too late to dodge.

Nappa twisted slightly out of the way, but it was too late. The disc sliced cleanly through his body.

Vegeta stared for a moment, in shock, as Nappa collapsed, dead. Then he chuckled. "He always was a fool. Letting his anger get the best of him." The warriors present were in shock over Vegeta's callous dismissal of his partner's death. For his part, Krillen regretted it, but it was obvious that there was no other real way to put him down.

"I suppose you'll want to fight me, next." Vegeta said, chuckling.

"You'd suppose right." Piccolo said, expressing more confidence than he felt. He charged forward at Vegeta, with Gohan and Krillen right beside him. 


	4. Vegeta Enters the Fray

Vegeta countered, and evaded everything. They were fast, he was faster. He blocked a strike by Gohan and turned him in the air, kicking the boy away. Next, he turned and kicked Krillen in the chest, knocking him away. Piccolo faced him alone. Piccolo kept up with him, his own speed higher than the others.

"Not bad, Namek." Vegeta said with a sneer. There was that word again, was that what he was? A Namek? He ignored the question and pressed on. Piccolo kicked towards Vegeta's head, causing the saiyan to dodge backward. Piccolo extended his arm and twisted it downward to grab Vegeta's foot, tumbling him upside down while Piccolo delivered a kick to the throat. His enhanced ears could hear the sudden ragged breath coming out of his foe.

Vegeta vanished as soon as the attack landed, and Piccolo let his ki sense detect him. Twisting around, Piccolo fired a blast behind him, where he felt Vegeta to be. Vegeta deflected the blast and kicked Piccolo in the head, sending him flying.

Piccolo bounced off the ground, head first, and struggled to his feet. His limbs didn't want to work, and he could barely see. This was the second time a blow to the head disoriented him.

Vegeta flew towards him at high speed, and twisted in mid-air. He grinned maliciously at Krillen, who had been trying to sneak attack, and fired a blast that sent the small warrior tumbling away. He turned towards Piccolo, who was clearly still disoriented.

However, as he reached him, Piccolo vanished suddenly, and Vegeta felt a blast of energy strike him from behind, burying him in a nearby mountain. Vegeta growled, and his aura flashed, sending rocks flying in all directions. From the rubble, Piccolo suddenly appeared in front of him.

Vegeta kicked Piccolo in the jaw, sending him hurling into the air. Vegeta flew to meet him and slammed his fist into the top of Piccolo's head, sending the Namek to the ground. He lie there, trying to makee his body get up, but the accumulated blows to his head were making it harder.

Vegeta cupped his hands, charging a blast to finish Piccolo off. As he did so, something faster than he could see collided into him, sending him flying into the air. He tried to right himself in mid-air, but couldn't, as whoever was attacking was far faster than he was capable of seeing. Just as he got his bearings, another strike sent him flying. He finally twisted in mid-air and struck his foe.

Gohan flew backwards and stopped in mid-air. His eyes were wide, his face contorted with rage. Where had that power come from? He swore he'd witnessed the boy collapse, was his power buried under anger? Gohan charged, clashing with Vegeta in mid-air.

The air shook with thunderous power as the two warriors slammed into one another. Vegeta was in awe, this mere boy's power was far beyond the power he himself had as a child. If he survived to adulthood, he would make a fine warrior. Vegeta had no desire to let that happen.

Gohan pressed on, striking hard, fast, and brutal. Vegeta deflected each blow that came with relative ease. For all of Gohan's power and speed, he was fighting on blind rage.

"Your instincts are dull, boy." Vegeta taunted. "You are fighting blind. You only see your target. You may be powerful." He deflected three more attacks, before slamming his fist into Gohan's abdomen. The boy collapsed, eyes wide with fear and pain. "But you are no saiyan warrior." He grabbed Gohan's head and threw the boy to the ground.

Gohan struck the ground, and cried out in pain, Vegeta's palm glowed as he grinned with malice and rage. "Come on, boy..." He said with a vicious chuckle. "Die with pride."

Piccolo gazed upward, staring at the scene before him. Gohan was too hurt, too drained to get out of the way. His muscles were sore, his foot was still in bad shape, and his head was still swirling. He commanded his muscles to move, and jumped to his feet. For the rest of time, he would remember this moment. Gohan's look of pure terror. The feel of Vegeta's raw power, in a massive, deadly wave. He would remember the ragged stones against his injured foot. He would remember the feel of his tattered gi against his chest. But, above all, he would remember an overpowering instinct. Protect, save, help. Gohan must not die. Above all else, Gohan must not die.

He leaped into the air as the blast still hung there, and turned to face Vegeta. He summoned the last of his strength, concentrating all of his remaining energy in front of himself. He roared in defiance, as if the volume of his voice would deflect the blast. The blast slammed into his ki shield, but the shield held firm. As he felt the shield crumble, he knew. No one would mourn him. No one would want him back. He had lived a life of violence, and was probably doomed for hell. That was fine for him, because he knew one thing. Gohan would be safe, and Goku would be there soon.

The blast slammed through his shield, but he held firm as it overtook him. The pain was overwhelming, but he held firm. As the glare faded, Vegeta stared in what was obviously stunned surprise.

Piccolo's ki gave out and he floated to the ground, landing there. Once he was on the ground, his legs had no strength to hold him, so he fell.

Gohan was there, standing over him already. Piccolo smiled at Gohan's tears, touched beyond words.

"It's...it's okay Gohan." He said, trying to breathe. "You're okay, you'll be okay. I never understood your father, but now I do. I'm not a monster anymore, Gohan. Listen, I didn't save you, you saved me. Remember that, you saved me." His eyes closed, and Gohan screamed. Krillen closed his eyes. He had never felt anything more than fear for Piccolo, but seeing Goku's foe and rival sacrifice his life like that, touched him.

"Pathetic." Vegeta said. "Useless sentiment. Now, I'll finish the rest of you off, take the dragonballs, get my immortality, and kill the rest of you."

"Ha..." Krillen said with a grin, coughing. "Won't work, with Piccolo dead, the dragon balls don't work anymore."

"You lie." Vegeta snarled. "You!" He said, turning to Krillen. "You die first."

The blast came, but suddenly exploded from the air, deflected upwards where it detonated.

Goku had arrived. 


	5. Goku's Turn

"Who are you?" Vegeta said, genuinely surprised as Goku floated down where the others were.

"I'm Goku." Came the reply, as he tossed a small brown bag to Krillen. "There's enough for everyone." He glanced at Piccolo and closed his eyes, before glancing back up at Vegeta.

"Oh, Kakkarott?" Vegeta said, as if it dawned on him. "No, you're dead, aren't you?"

"Dragon balls, brought me back." He glared at Vegeta.

"Ah, well, not much use, was it? You couldn't even handle your worthless brother. What makes you think you can fight me."

"Care to try?" Goku smirked. Vegeta chuckled.

"You've got a saiyan's bloodlust, I'll give you that. Not like your useless brat."

Goku's eyes narrowed. "Can we fight somewhere else?" Goku asked.

"I can't see why not, after all, it's fitting to grant a dying man one last request."

Goku didn't answer as the two vanished into the distance. Krillen ran to and fro, finding each survivor and feeding them a senzu.

Tien groaned as he sat awake. "What happened?" He asked, shaking his head.

"We killed Nappa." Krillen said, almost sad to say it. He'd never killed anyone before. "Then we fought Vegeta, and Piccolo sacrificed his life to save Gohan. Now Goku and Vegeta are fighting."

The rest of the warriors stood up and gathered together.

"Wow, Piccolo..." Yamcha said, closing his eyes. "I didn't think, but, wow..."

"So, what do we do now? Wait for Goku to beat that guy?" Chiaoutzu said as he floated up.

"Monitor the fight." Krillen said. "If it looks like Goku is in serious trouble, we jump in. We can't afford to lose Goku as soon as we got him."

"You should sit it out then." Yamcha said. "You've already died once."

"Yeah, but without the dragon balls, what's the point?" Krillen said. "I'm going with you guys. Nobody else dies." He said defiantly. The others nodded.

Goku landed, a barren desert. He was familiar with it. It was virtually devoid of life, nothing to accidentally kill if things got out of hand.

"This is where you have chosen to die, Kakkarott?" Vegeta scoffed. "Very well, let's begin."

Time seemed to stop for a moment, as each man sized the other up. Then, they vanished into the sky. They traded blows, faster and faster they went. Goku took a swing at Vegeta, only for Vegeta to vanish suddenly.

Vegeta slammed his fists into Goku's back, sending him hurling toward the ground. Goku stopped himelf from free-falling, and jumped backwards.

"You're not bad at all." Vegeta said. "But still, nothing compared to me."

Goku knew he was right. Despite all his training, there was a gap. Vegeta had an edge in brute strength, and in speed. Goku had something though.

"Kaio-ken!" Goku shouted as his aura turned red, then he vanished.

Vegeta turned around, waiting for his foe to appear. He felt something slam into his back, tumbling through the air, followed by a foot to the face. He flew backwards and chuckled.

"Well, Kakkarott, you just might be a challenge then." He said, a sinister gleam in his eyes. He clenched his fists and roared, an aura flaring up around him. Goku felt his power grow, and prepared for the coming onslaught.

Vegeta vanished, and Goku tried to sense his presence to detect the direction he was coming from. It was a vain effort, as Vegeta appeared below him and kicked him further into the air. Goku hurled upwards, struggling to regain control of his own momentum.

Vegeta appeared above him and kicked him down, sending Goku back to the ground, sending dirt and rocks into the air as he made a massive crater. He jumped back into the air and began to pant. He had to do it, there was no choice.

"Kaio-Ken times two!" Vegeta's eyes went wide.

Goku vanished in a blur of red. Vegeta didn't get time to try and find his foe before his fist slammed into the side of his face, sending him like a shot through the air. He managed to turn around in an attempt to stop the coming assault, but Goku was already gone.

Goku watched as Vegeta moved in slow motion, while Goku was at full speed. He moved behind Vegeta and kicked him in the back, sending him into the air, then, before Vegeta could recover, flew up again and punched him back into the ground.

Goku's body was on fire, pain coursed through his limbs. Kaio-Ken pushed his body above it's current limits in terms of speed, strength, and energy output, but also put strain on his body for doing so. He could already feel exhaustion taking it's toll. 


	6. The Glory of Battle

The other warriors watched the fight from a safe distance, they could sense the spikes in Goku's energy, and were laughing.

"Ha, see that!" Yamcha said. "Goku has this in the bag, he's much stronger than Vegeta."

"That's not it, Yamcha." Krillen said, closing his eyes. "Yes, Goku's power is growing, but it's weird. It's like trying to fill a balloon with too much air, he's pushing himself. Can you feel it?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah." Tien said, nodding. "Vegeta's ki is going at a steady pace, but Goku's is fluctuating. we may need to help him out after all."

"Let's monitor the fight for a little..." Krillen said, then his eyes went wide.

Vegeta growled. How dare that low-class, worthless for anything but grunt work, actually fight him? Either Kakkarott was somehow cheating, or Vegeta had gotten soft. Either way, it was time to finish the fight. He flew high into the air and turned around, cupping his hands.

"It's inconsequential." He said, managing to get to his feet. "I'm just going to blow the whole planet up and leave." It wasn't entirely a bluff. If he struck the planet with a full powered blast, it would start an inevitable chain reaction that would rupture the planet and kill all life on Earth. Goku knew that, and couldn't afford to let him do it.

"vegeta, no!" Goku roared, cupping his hands behind him. There was no way he could let this happen, even if it killed him.

"GALLiCK-GUNNNN!" Vegeta screamed, sending a purple colored blast screaming towards the Earth.

Goku panted, this blast was too powerful in his current state. He could never hope to prevent the destruction at his current level.

"Kaio-Ken...times...THREE!" He roared, feeling power rush into his body. His stance shifted subtly as energy filled his hands.

"KAAAAA..." He shouted. "MEEEEE..." He would have to overwhelm Vegeta's blast. "HAAAA..." Vegeta might die, ,but there was no other recourse. "MEEEEE..." He felt bad for it too, Vegeta was fun to fight. "HAAAAAAA!"

Vegeta laughed at the puny blast...for a moment. It collided with his gallick gun in mid-air, and the two blasts held fast. Vegeta was amazed that Kakkarott could counter his attack, but he hadn't put everything in it.

Goku felt Vegeta's energy spike again, and knew it was going into the gallick gun. There was no other choice. What he did next just might kill him.

"Kaio-ken..." He said, starting to breathe hard. "Times...FOUUUUURR!" He screamed the last word as another pulse of power filled his body. Shards of rock flew into the air around him as Goku, in a desperate attempt at keeping Vegeta from killing everything, poured everything he had left into the blast. It pushed through Vegeta's gallick gun, and Goku felt it collapse. Vegeta pushed for a few moments longer, but it was in vain as he was overcome by the massive blast and carried into the upper atmosphere.

Goku panted. That was nearly all he had left, his power was lacking. He wasn't out of the fight, not yet, but the damage was probably extensive. All he could hope was that Vegeta was in worse shape than he was. Anything else meant he wasn't sure he could finish the fight on his own.

Vegeta landed, clearly worse for wear, but not unconcious, and that was bad. Goku had been pushing himself to Vegeta's level, which meant that, sooner or later, Vegeta would outlast his foe. Goku could only hope to defeat him before that happened.

"You are missing your tail, and I doubt you know any of this. When a saiyan's eyes absorb a certain amount of blutz waves, a reaction happens in their tail, creating a transformation that increases their power tenfold. Blutz waves are produced when a star's light reflects off of a moon. With this technique, I can produce blutz waves wherever I am, and trigger that transformation whenever I like!" He said, sending a small ball of energy into the air.

Goku would have stopped him, but barely had the energy to stand up. He watched, in horror, as Vegeta grew larger, transforming into a massive ape. Then, he realized something horrifying. If Vegeta grew to a massive ape during the full moon when he had his tail, that must have been why he never remembered seeing the full moon as a child.

"I...I'm sorry Grandpa." Goku said to himself as he realized just who had killed his grandfather. But, there was no time to concentrate on that.

"HAHAHAHA, now to squash you, and your whole planet!" Vegeta roared with laughter, his voice warped into a twisted version of his normal voice. Well, that was even worse, Goku thought. If Vegeta had been mindless, he might have stood a chance.

Vegeta stomped towards Goku, before someone blasted him in the face, causing him to stumble back.

Yamcha appeared in front of Goku, grabbed his arm, and jumped away. When Vegeta could see again, his target was down.

"What are you guys doing?" Goku said.

"Running interference." Yamcha said. "You're exhausted, and we have to stop this guy. Luckily, if we coordinate our efforts, we should be able to cut his tail off and make him turn back." Goku nodded.

"Well, we're out of senzu, and you guys are a lot fresher than I am." Goku said. "So I'll just keep out of the way."

"Hey, Vegeta!" Tien shouted. Vegeta glanced upward. "TAIYOKEN!" Suddenly, his whole world went white. He began swinging his tail all around, preventing the Z fighters from getting close enough to cut it off.

"Where's Gohan?" Goku asked Yamcha, who was waiting for an opportunity.

"We told him to stay back, didn't want him to get hurt."

"Good, that's what I would have said."

Yamcha dashed into the air and landed out of sight. A small glowing ball of energy appeared in his hand and flew into the air at Vegeta.

It struck Vegeta in the temple, causing him to stagger back a bit, before turning and striking the other temple. Vegeta shook his head and tried to concentrate on the tiny orb, but it was too small and too fast. Yamcha had no hope to defeat Vegeta with it, but it would be too annoying to ignore.

Vegeta glanced up just in time to see a disc of energy coursing through the air. He hopped into the air to dodge it, knowing it could do a lot of harm if it struck.

He spotted Tien, just in time to feel a small blast of energy slam into his arm. He swung at the offending warrior, but another, similar blast struck him in the back of the head.

Yamcha grinned, now was the perfect time. He reached into his gi and found the one capsule he kept in there.

When he found out that his targets were saiyans, he remembered what had happened many years ago, and knew that saiyans were weakened by having their tails cut off. So, he went to Bulma and asked if her company could make a blade out of an advanced alloy, strong enough to cut anything. She agreed.

The capsule popped open and a scimitar appeared in mid-air. Yamcha jumped up and grabbed the weapon, fixing the sheathe to his belt. He flew towards Vegeta, drawing the sword as he did so.

He grabbed the hilt with both hands as he got closer, holding it firmly in hand. Tien spotted him, and blasted Vegeta in the forehead. The saiyan looked up to find his target, leaving his tail unprotected.

The blade sunk down, deep into his tail, and severed clean through it. 


	7. Victory and Exhaustion

Yamcha dashed out of sight the moment Vegeta started to shrink, knowing the saiyan might yet have the power to fight.

He was right. Vegeta turned to the fleeing Yamcha and kicked the human in the back, sending him flying. He jumped into the air and landed on Yamcha's back, breaking several bones. Yamcha cried out in pain.

Next was Tien, whom Vegeta chased into the air. Consumed with bloodlust like he was, Tien, who was already tired out again from all the blasting and dodging he had done, could not evade him. Vegeta slammed into him, sending him hurling into the ground. Vegeta concentrated energy in his palm and blasted Tien in the chest, penetrating his lung, but missing his heart.

Vegeta growled. "I'm going to kill you anyway, tail or no tail." His eyes turned to Goku, the intent to kill clear in his mind. Goku raised his arms in defense, but knew he was far too tired to stand up to Vegeta.

Despite using so much power, Vegeta was still not yet exhausted. Goku felt his arms and legs burn with each movement, and knew Vegeta was mere seconds away from overpowering him. Kaio-Ken times four was too dangerous, it seemed.

Vegeta knocked his hands aside and kicked him into the air. He followed him into the air, and kicked him again. Goku slammed into the ground and screamed in pain.

Goku watched as Vegeta hurled down towards him, presumably to finish him off with his bare hands. Then, Vegeta vanished, seemingly exploding out of the air.

"What the hell was that?" Vegeta said, jumping back to his feet. "Which of you cowards attacked me?!"

"You killed Mr. Piccolo..." Came a quiet voice. "You are not killing my daddy too..."

"The Namek died to save you..." Vegeta said with a laugh. "You would throw that away?"

"I'm not going to die." Gohan said, rage in his eyes.

Gohan, run... The voice, his father, entered his head.

No, Daddy, I...

You're so brave, Gohan, but, just run...

Daddy, if I run, I...

Gohan... Suddenly, a new voice entered Gohan's head. Look up, straight into the sky, there's a bright light there. Look at it. Don't worry, everything will be fine. Just look at that light.

...are you sure Mr. Chiaoutzu?

I'm sure, Gohan, go ahead.

Gohan saw the tiny little orb in the air, and froze. Vegeta stared in horror. He had to stop it, he had to...

A yellow disc of energy flew directly at his head, and he managed to move out of the way. Krillen threw another, then another. Vegeta couldn't stop Gohan, he was too busy dodging.

Gohan transformed, growing several times his size. He let out a beastly roar to the heavens above.

"He's just a child..." Vegeta said. "He should rampage mindlessly..." Gohan turned, and stared directly at Vegeta, who's eyes went wide. "That's impossible, a mere child..."

Gohan charged and slammed his massive fist into the ground where Vegeta had been standing.

How is Gohan... Goku asked Chiaoutzu telepathically.

I'm directing him, but it's tough. His mind is so wild, it's taking everything I have to keep him from destroying everything. He's almost like an animal. If you have any other ideas, pleas use them. I don't know how long I can keep this Vegeta guy on his toes before Gohan breaks my control.

I have an idea. Goku said back. Krillen, come here...

Krillen, who was standing and watching, heard the strange mental request. knowing the source, he flew around the rampaging Gohan and arrived near Goku.

"I haven't been just standing here." He said as Krillen landed. "While you guys dealt with Vegeta, I pretended to be too hurt to fight him while I prepared something special. But I can't throw it, I can barely use my arms. I couldn't gather any more energy for it, either, or I rised losing control of the technique."

"What are you talking about Goku." Krillen said, confused.

"This..." Goku said, raising his hand. It was glowing, and Krillen understood. It didn't feel like Goku's power, there was something pure about it, something powerful. "This is called the spirit bomb. The user gathers energy from all over the world and concentrates it into a ball. It is pure, causing harm only to evil beings. I need you to throw this at Vegeta."

Krillen nodded and stuck his hand out. He felt the energy enter his hand. Using his skill for shaping energy, he coalesced the mass into a sphere, easier to throw, faster, better impact.

Vegeta jumped back, dodging another of Gohan's strikes. He raised his hand into the air, summoning a disc of energy. He had observed Krillen perform the technique several times, and had determined how it worked well enough.

He threw the disc at Gohan's tail, and severed it. As the child shrunk back down, he glanced up and spotted a small, bluish orb of energy flying at him. He had barely enough energy to throw the disc, let alone enough to stop the orb.

The warriors on hand watched, amazed, as Vegeta was carried into the air, high above. High into the sky, as the small orb of energy enveloped him, causing him to roar in pain. A few minutes later, the screaming warrior fell from the sky and landed on the ground.

"He's not dead..." Krillen said. "I'm going to go fix that."

Vegeta rolled over in time to see a sword aimed at his face. "What, going to kill me, Earthling?"

"Why not, it's what you tried to do to us!"

"Krillen...don't..." Goku said quitely.

"Why not?"

"This isn't you, Krillen, you're not a killer."

"I've already killed one saiyan today, why not make it two?"

"That was...the middle of battle. Heat of the fight, against an enemy that could defend himself. Vegeta's too injured to even move."

Krillen hesitated, Goku was right.

"Besides, Vegeta's so strong, I want to try to fight him again sometime."

Vegeta began crawling, trying to command his arms and legs to move.

"Pathetic, Kakkarott. Your softness is going to get you killed, again." Vegeta coughed as he pulled a remote out of his armor. "No matter, I have more important things to do than seek petty revenge." Vegeta said, the last part being very cryptic.

His pod landed near him, and he barely managed to crawl into it. He collapsed, and the craft took off into the sky.  



End file.
